Plans for a 425-home “garden village” on the edge of Coventry have been submitted.

The mammoth development would take place on land formerly designated as green belt on Westwood Heath Road.

It sits just outside the Coventry border and is an area under the control of Warwick District Council. It was recently designated for housing as part of the council’s Local Plan, removing its green belt protection.

A previous application for the site was withdrawn after Coventry City Council raised concerns about how the resulting traffic in the area would be dealt with.

But the plans have now been resubmitted to Warwick District Council by developers Crest Nicholson.

Details of the revised plans are not yet publicly available, as the council is yet to validate the application.

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Green belt

Housing demand

Councils in Coventry and Warwickshire aim to find space for 88,000 new homes by 2031 - and have divided up areas of land under their control accordingly by drawing up local plans.

Coventry’s Local Plan was approved earlier this month and could see 25,000 new homes built in the city.

However, the city is expected to need an additional 18,000 homes according to population growth estimates - and land in Warwickshire has been allocated for this purpose under a partnership agreement with Warwickshire councils.

In many cases this land is on, or near to, the Coventry border.

Some campaigners have questioned the accuracy of the population growth estimates, and the need for the additional housing.

But Coventry’s Local Plan was recently signed off by an independent government inspector.

Councillors in the city have also stated that, if the population growth figures change in the future, the Local Plan could be amended accordingly.

Affordable homes

A Crest Nicholson spokesperson said:"In response to initial feedback, we have reviewed our original proposal and made some important amendments to our plans for 425 new homes on Westwood Heath Road.

"The site will provide much needed homes for the local area and existing residents, including a mixture of both private and affordable housing.

"We remain fully committed to delivering a high quality development that local residents, the Council and ourselves can be proud of."